Simple Ways to Find Good Clients for Your Solo Cleaning Business

Whether you’re looking for your very first cleaning client or you’ve been in business for a while and have a few spots you want to fill, you don’t necessarily need to spend money on advertising to find good clients.

I built my cleaning business without relying on paid ads.

A lot of my business came through referrals, personal connections, networking, and simply making sure people knew what I did.

And some of those clients stayed with me for 10, 15, even 20 years.

That matters when you’re running your cleaning business solo. You don’t need hundreds of clients. You need the right recurring clients filling the spots on your schedule.

Now, before you read these 3 ways and think...

“I’ve already heard this before.”

Stick with me. None of these are flashy. And you may have even tried one or two of them before. Don’t dismiss them because they’re simple.

These are the same kinds of things I used to build my own cleaning business without relying on paid advertising. The difference is in how you use them.

Posting on Facebook once and deciding it doesn’t work isn’t a strategy.

Mentioning your cleaning business to two people and never talking about it again isn’t networking. And waiting for a happy client to magically send you referrals isn’t a referral strategy.

Sometimes you don’t need another new way to get clients. You need to use the simple things that already work more intentionally and consistently. So even if you’ve heard these before or tried them before, don’t skip over them just yet.

Just Starting Your Cleaning Business?

There are a lot of little pieces to think about when you’re getting started, and it’s easy to wonder whether you’re forgetting something.

I put together a FREE Cleaning Business Start-Up Checklist to help you see the important things you need to have in place without trying to figure everything out on your own.

GET THE FREE START-UP CHECKLIST👇

Now, here are 3 free ways I’d be using to get cleaning clients.

1. Start With People Who Already Know You

This is one of the easiest places to start, and a lot of cleaning business owners overlook it.

Think about the people already in your life.

Friends. Family. Neighbors. Former coworkers. Other parents. Your hairstylist. Your veterinarian. People you already do business with.

Tell them what you do.

You don’t need to give everyone some awkward sales pitch.

Simply let people know:

“I own a residential cleaning business and I’m accepting a few new recurring clients.”

And don’t assume someone has to personally need a cleaner to help you.

They may know someone who does.

If you’ve already been cleaning for a while, this still works.

When you have an opening on your schedule, tell people.

You’d be surprised how many people can’t refer you simply because they don’t know you’re looking for another client.

2. Use Facebook to Get in Front of Local Clients

You don’t need thousands of followers to use Facebook to get cleaning clients.

You need the right local people to know you exist.

Start with your personal Facebook profile.

Make sure people can tell you own a cleaning business, and don’t be afraid to occasionally talk about it.

Share a before-and-after.

Post a client testimonial.

Let people know when you have an opening.

Talk about your business.

You can also have a professional Facebook business page where potential clients can learn more about you, see your work and testimonials, and find out how to contact you.

And don’t overlook local Facebook groups.

People are constantly asking:

“Can anyone recommend a good house cleaner?”

Those are conversations you want to be part of.

But here’s the important part:

Don’t post twice, get no clients, and decide Facebook doesn’t work.

People may need to see your name more than once before they remember you, trust you, or happen to need a cleaner.

You don’t need to spend your entire day on Facebook.

You just want to consistently make it easy for the right local people to find you, learn a little about you, and contact you.

3. Ask Your Best Clients for Referrals

If you’re already cleaning and you have clients you absolutely love working with, start there.

Your best clients often know other people like themselves.

And those are exactly the kinds of referrals you want.

Don’t just sit back and hope referrals happen.

Let your clients know when you have an opening.

You can also create a simple referral program to thank clients when someone they refer becomes a client.

And if you’re brand new and don’t have clients to ask yet? Keep this in mind as you start building your business. Your goal isn’t just to clean someone’s house once.

It’s to create the kind of client relationship where that person is happy to tell her friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers about you.

One great recurring client can lead to another.

And another.

That’s how I built a large part of my own business.

But Don’t Fill Your Schedule With Just Anyone

This is where I made mistakes when I was starting my own cleaning business.

When you really need clients, it’s easy to start thinking:

“I just need somebody to hire me.”

So you lower your price.

Take a house farther away than you really want to drive.

Agree to things you don’t really want to include.

Or take a client even though something is already telling you they probably aren’t a great fit.

I did some of that too.

But I learned pretty quickly:

Getting the client isn’t the goal.

The goal is getting clients you actually want to keep.

And if you’re already in business, I want you to look at the clients you have now and ask yourself: Would I Want 10 More Clients Just Like This One?

That question can tell you a lot.

Because when you’re solo, you only have so many spots on your schedule.

Those spots are valuable. You want to fill them with clients who fit your business, value what you do, pay you properly, and have the potential to become good long-term recurring clients. That’s how you start building a cleaning business that isn’t just keeping you busy.

It’s actually profitable.

You Got the Client. Now What?

Finding someone who wants a house cleaner is only the beginning.

Because once someone contacts you, you still have to decide:

Is this the right client for my business? How do you pre-screen them?

How do you handle the estimate? What exactly are you going to include in the service?

How are you going to price it? What are your policies? How do you set expectations from the beginning?

And how do you turn a good new client into the kind of recurring client you’d be happy to have long-term?

That’s exactly why I created:

From Busy to Profitable™

This isn't just for someone who already has a full cleaning schedule.

If you’re brand new, it gives you a process to start building your business the right way from the beginning.

And if you’re already in business, it can help you fix the parts that may be keeping you busy without making your business as profitable as it could be.

Inside, I walk you through the process I used in my own cleaning business to:

• Choose better-fit clients.

• Pre-screen potential clients.

• Lead an in-home walkthrough.

• Define exactly what your service includes.

• Give your price.

• Set expectations and policies.

• Book the cleaning.

• Build long-term recurring client relationships.

And you’re not just getting information.

You’ll also get the tools to actually put the process into your business, including my Core Client Profile, Pre-Screening Call Sheet + Script, In-Home Walkthrough + Estimate Forms, Cleaning Checklists, Client Agreement + Policies, Referral Program, and step-by-step training.

FROM BUSY TO PROFITABLE™ $39

Build a simpler, more profitable solo cleaning business around valuable, long-term recurring clients.

GET INSTANT ACCESS HERE

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For over 30 years, Trisha built and ran her own successful cleaning business, handpicking her schedule and consistently earning $5,000+ a month—all while working part-time as a solo cleaner. Now, she’s here to help you do the same! Whether you’re just starting solo or already have a small team, Trisha’s vast experience can help you grow your business and boost profits without adding more hours. She'll teach you how to avoid common mistakes new cleaning business owners make and run your business profitably from day one. With over three decades of experience, learning from Trisha is the fastest, most reliable way to launch or scale your thriving cleaning business!